The Labour Party still has a problem with the far left. This has been exposed by the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Sir Keir Starmer has tried hard to change his Party and he has had some success. Inevitably, there remain Labour MPs and Party members who are former Corbyn supporters and Palestine Solidarity activists. They are hostile towards those that do not condemn Israel or who do not seek the one-sided 'ceasefire' they seek. They insist Israel is guilty of ‘war crimes’ and ‘genocide.’ They support disruptive and intimidating marches and protests in London, which include extremist elements, claiming they are ‘peaceful protests.’
Sir Keir is leading a ‘Government in waiting’ and an election will happen this year. He does not want the public to see this side of his Party. A vote in Parliament last week would have exposed the extent of the problem he faces. Instead of taking on his opponents in his Party, Sir Keir put pressure on the Commons Speaker to change Parliamentary rules to enable this split to be hidden from view. It was later explained that this was to allow Labour MPs to vote safely in a way which would protect them and their families from threats and intimidation. Instead of standing firm against the extremism behind the threats, the Labour Party and the Commons Speaker sought to placate these elements. This is an unacceptable path to take and it harms our democracy.
It is not only the Labour Party that is afraid to tackle this issue. MPs on all sides fear being labelled racist or Islamophobic if they speak out. We must condemn anti-muslim hate which has increased since the October 7th terror attacks. But we cannot tolerate Islamist extremism because we are afraid. This has been a growing problem over recent years. Now a foreign conflict, in which we have little influence, is exposing the harm being done to community cohesion. We should all be clear: extremists cannot be tolerated in our society; all Parliamentarians have a duty to uphold British values. We cannot choose to look the other way because we are afraid.
